Just Keep Running
by ArmedWithMyComputer
Summary: A young Carlos has the worst day ever, and just wants to get away. Full of sadness and angst, he runs to the only place that he knows.


**Some days, when you're feeling kinda sick and the day is just really bad, all you can do is write… So that's what I did today :) I'm also planning to start another Big Time Rush multi-chapter fic in a couple of weeks, so keep an eye out if you're interested. Sorry for any mistakes in this!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush.**

**O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

Carlos Garcia ran. He passed the waiting parents at the gate of the school, and almost knocked over some younger children skipping back to their cars at the end of a long day. His mother was late, yet again, so there was no one to tell him to slow down and pull him into the hug that he needed so much. He ran on. His short legs were at full speed as he headed down the road, eyes blinking furiously to try and stop the tears that were threatening to overflow.

It didn't work. A few rogue tear drops dripped down his cheeks, making him sniffle and quickly scrub them away. People on the sidewalk made a curious path for the young boy as he barrelled down at full speed, determined not to stop for anything. His hood was pulled up over his head and he kept his eyes glued to the ground as he ran.

No one noticed the wetness on his cheeks, or the look of self hatred that was burning in his big brown eyes.

Carlos sprinted into the park a couple of blocks away from his school, and headed straight for his favourite spot. Unfortunately he had come at the park from a different direction than usual, and was so intent on getting to his chosen spot as fast as he could, and didn't see that small collection of stone steps that awaited him.

Carlos fell to the ground silently, not even opening his mouth to gasp in surprise or utter a _oomph _when he hit the hard concrete. His hands which had been bunched into fists reacted too late to catch him, so Carlos felt the full force of the fall on his side, scraping his knees as he landed hard on them. The boy's head also knocked against a rock, earning Carlos a small gash on his temple that started bleeding slightly.

So used to falling by then, both literally and metaphorically, Carlos lay still for a few seconds before picking himself up slowly and heading to his destination at a moderate walking pace.

Carlos wiped away the small blood trails that ran into his eye, and didn't even bother to look down at what he knew would be bloody knees. It was a cold afternoon, the air crisp and refreshing, so Carlos took a deep breath before pulling his coat tighter around his body. Then, he rounded the corner to his favourite place.

He wanted to just keep running, to never stop ever again, but he was at a loss of where to go. So he settled on his favourite place in the world.

The small pond was deserted, surrounded by tall trees that towered over the small boy, just as Carlos had hoped, and he settled into a comfortable crouch by the water's edge. The ducks all swam eagerly over to the small figure, only to be rewarded for their trouble with a small handful of crumbs from Carlos' pocket.

"Sorry, duckies, this is all I have..." Carlos' voice was quiet and subdued, his mind occupied with the events of the day. First he had gotten the results of a math test back, which he had failed, then he had failed to score the deciding goal in the game of soccer at lunchtime, and then finally a kid in his class called Ricky Walker had pushed him over when the teacher wasn't looking.

Ricky had also called Carlos a "... Stupid, little short idiot who can't even score one simple soccer goal." For a twelve year old, these were harsh words, and then to make matters worse, Ricky had snatched Carlos' after school snack that Carlos had been looking forward to all day right out of his hands.

When Carlos had looked desperately to an occupied Kendall, Logan and James for help, Ricky had felt it necessary to add the fact that Carlos couldn't "... Do anything by himself, and always needed his big, older friends to protect him," When Carlos' eyes had started to water, Ricky only snickered and muttered, "What a baby..."

That was when the bell rang for the end of school, and when Carlos had burst out of the classroom and started running. He had ignored the surprised yells of his friends, not looking back as the door banged behind him.

Carlos sat still and watched the ducks swim around in circles, wishing that he could give them more food than the few crumbs that he had. The twelve year old came to this spot often, because it was usually peaceful and deserted, except for the ducks. He rubbed absent minded-ly at his head, feeling tendrils of pain from his scraped temple and knees sneak into his mind for the first time since he had fallen.

Adrenaline was a wonderful thing. But once it wore off, everything seemed to be much worse than before.

Carlos sat on the ground beside the pond until his butt went numb and his fingers and ears started to get really cold, which didn't take very long. The small boy began to think hard about what would happen if he stayed in the park forever, and lived in the trees with all the seriousness of a twelve year old. Just as he was planning to use the pond as a swimming pool, he heard the sound of hurried footsteps.

Knowing who the footsteps belonged to without turning around, Carlos said in a monotone, "Please just leave me alone... I don't wanna talk to anyone."

"But, Carlitos, what's wrong?" Kendall's voice called out from where his friends had stopped a couple of metres away from the pond. Carlos only dipped his head down lower in shame.

"Yeah, did we do something to make you mad at us, man?" James.

Carlos buried his face in his hands, murmuring, "'m not a baby..."

Carlos heard tentative footsteps, and then felt the weight of a hand on his shoulder, "Of course you're not a baby, Carlos. What's all this about?" Logan sat down cross legged beside his friend, his brow furrowing when he saw the smear of blood on Carlos' face, "What happened, dude?"

Carlos sat still and let Logan probe slightly at the cut on his head, before wordlessly showing his friend his bloody knees. Logan hissed in pain on Carlos' behalf as he pried the material away from the cuts. Producing his mini pack of band aids from his school bag, Logan fixed all of Carlos' cuts, while James and Kendall scooted over softly to join their friends.

Then, with a little encouragement from his friends, Carlos (complete with a power rangers plaster in the middle of his forehead), spilled out all the details of his horrible day. His three friends sat around him, and made sympathetic noises in all the right places. When he was done with his story, Carlos looked down at the ground sadly.

"Well, I could start helping you out with math if you wanted, Carlos...? I get all the stuff that we're doing at the moment in class, and could help you understand things a bit better if you wanted..." Logan gave Carlos a reassuring smile

"And I could teach you about how to aim in soccer so that you could always score, 'cause I'm the best in the class!" James piped up anxiously, not wanting to see Carlos looking so sad. "We could practice after school in my house tomorrow, and then you could show stupid Ricky the next time we play soccer! And besides, you could totally kick his ass in hockey anytime!"

"I'm going to punch Ricky in the face next time I see him for saying all those mean things! And then we'll see how he likes being pushed on the ground." Kendall's eyes flashed wildly with the prospect of standing up for his friend, looking forward to showing Ricky that no one messed with Kendall Knight's friends and got away with it.

Carlos burst into a huge smile. "You guys are the best friends ever!" The small twelve year old smushed all his friends in for a big hug. They fell to the side, laughing and shouting happily, before rolling to a stop.

"C'mon," Kendall said with a grin, "My mom can make us pancakes if we go back to my house now, and then we can watch a movie!"

"Awesome, I'm starving..."

"Race you there!"

**O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.**

**Does anyone want to make my day a little less sucky by reviewing…?**

**Thanks for reading x**


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